Birthing from Within vs. Bradley...

[metzbn]

Anyone familiar with the Birthing from Within philosophy? My husband and I used Bradley method (and our own personal strengths) to go through my daughter's birth, but it was 44 hours long and my husband was exhausted, so he suggested a doula this time around (due 1/27/08) and the only one i have been able to find is really into this Birthing from Within method and I don't know what to think about it, it seemed to me at the beginning that they are really comfortable with interventions like C-section that I think are often very unnecessary...

Any thoughts?

[DoomaYula]

I have not taken Bradley. I've had two clients who used it during labor on their way to med-free hospital births, and my only concern was that it seemed to insist upon a "right way" to labor, kwim? I disagree with that.

I have taken Birthing From Within. BFW and I didn't "click." Here's my opinion: it is very conceptual. Tigers and artwork and footbaths are cool, but it didn't help me at all with the pain of a contraction.

My easiest labor was my most recent one, which was a waterbirth, and during my pregnancy I'd listened to a Hypnobabies cd frequently (although I didn't take the actual hypno class). I felt more relaxed during that labor than my other two.

[SublimeBirthGirl]

I used to teach Bradley (I took it w/ my first) and I've read Birthing From Within. It doesn't appeal to me personally, just not my thing. I think with most of these classes, it's more about personality than anything.

[kltroy]

My sister read the BFW book before having her son. She said that she found some of the techniques and exercises in it to be useful, but found the whole "therapy" aspect of it a bit goofy. "Open...flower of life!" just made her giggle. Makes me giggle too

Anyway, I think a doula is a great idea - I guess I would probably interview the one you're considering and ask her more about how she *implements* this technique. Ask her what sorts of things she usually suggests to her clients etc. If the things she says sound like they will be helpful to you, work with her. If it sounds like you're just not on the same page see if she knows of anyone else in the area whose philosophy is more similar to yours. Ultimately, whether you get an intervention etc is up to YOU, not your doula.

[balancedmama]

I am a doula and also a BFW mentor. Just because BFW does focus on some of those 'conceptual' things does not mean it doesn't have a practical side. It is more a philosophy about birth. FWIW I don't think that 'comfortable' with interventions is the way to describe the philosophy at all. It might seem that way, but BFW mentors are trained to support the mom in coping with unexpected outcomes - that includes everything from longer labors like you describe to cesarean birth. It is about letting go of how we feel labor should look like - mamas might need to 'lose control' in labor.

A big gap for me in Bradley is that while Bradley educates women about natural birth, I have personally found many Bradley educated couples to feel like their birth was an absolute failure if they deviate from the 'plan' or lose control. I'm not saying that this is the case with all Bradley-educated mamas but with many. I'm absolutely sure it depends on the particular educator.

I feel that the BFW philosophy is very grounded in the midwifery model of care but also takes into account the fact that MOST people in this country birth in the hospital in the medical model. BFW wants to be inclusive and useful for everyone no matter what their birthing choices are. It is up to individual doulas as to what they personally feel that they can support in advance of a birth, but no one can know ahead of time what their birth will look like.

HTH.

[Mamabeakley]

I really love BFW, but I think that it's probably more important to talk specifics with the doula you're considering about what you want and what she offers than to be of the same opinion about a childbirth prep methodology.

[JamieCatheryn]

BFW seems to really help with the mental and personal side of things, whereas Bradley teaches you physiology, informed medical choices, and relaxation methods. BFW would be great to help you overcome fears and tap into your sorta primal birthing self, but does seem lacking in practical reality (on purpose, because in the author's experience she needed to let go of all that).

The messages sounding supportive of intervention are mostly to make it more widely accessible to those wanting or needing it. If intervention isn't your ideal then it by no means would suggest you take it.

[grumpybear]

BFW really helped me know myself and tap into my resources when crunch time came along.
I only glazed over BRadley so I can't say much about it except that it just did not appeal to our family because honestly, I really preferred a doula over my husband for a birth partner.

[snugglebutter]

We took BFW classes during our first pregnancy and loved them. It was a huge advantage for me that one of the instructors was my midwife. I wasn't into the "birth art" etc..... but there were plenty of other parts I found useful.

[RockStarMom]

I took Bradley classes in preparation for my own birth, and now I am in the process of becoming a Birthing From Within mentor.
Have you read the book? BFW embraces all birthing mothers, and that is why you may be confused about the comfort of interventions. Pam England herself had a cesarean birth, so there is an acceptance that sometimes, for some reason, interventions need to happen, and BFW seeks to help parents realize that we never know exactly how our births will go, and come to terms with this before the fact.
In my own experience, Bradley is more about an outward preparation for birth, with an emphasis on facts and information being given to the parents. BFW, on the other hand, is all about inward preparation. I have personally come to more highly value the latter type of preparation, but I completely agree with the PP who said that it really depends on a person's personality.
HTH.

[SublimeBirthGirl]

Originally Posted by balancedmama

A big gap for me in Bradley is that while Bradley educates women about natural birth, I have personally found many Bradley educated couples to feel like their birth was an absolute failure if they deviate from the 'plan' or lose control. I'm not saying that this is the case with all Bradley-educated mamas but with many. I'm absolutely sure it depends on the particular educator.

A couple of things about this (and FYI I no longer teach Bradley). First of all, the couples who are drawn to Bradley tend to be extremely committed to natural birth, even before they start class. Bradley is very openly a NATURAL birth class, and the women who sign up have that as their goal. No matter what class they took, there would likely be disappointment if the ended up with interventions they didn't want.

Secondly, as with any class there is a lot depending on the teacher. I actually talked about the whole "failure" aspect in my classes, that it sucks to get an epidural or cesarean if you didn't want one, but it doesn't mean they failed.

Thirdly, I think Bradley's high natural birth rate is owed in large part to the fact that they are so "hardcore." I imagine BFW would appeal to a less committed audience, and part of the curriculum is compassionate use of epidurals. Bradley doesn't do any of that-it's a natural birth class only. And honestly, to have a natural birth in a hospital these days, you have to be committed. If you're not, it's probably not going to happen (and there's a good chance it's not going to happen anyway when you get right down to it).

[BirthIsAwesome]

Originally Posted by SublimeBirthGirl

A couple of things about this (and FYI I no longer teach Bradley). First of all, the couples who are drawn to Bradley tend to be extremely committed to natural birth, even before they start class. Bradley is very openly a NATURAL birth class, and the women who sign up have that as their goal. No matter what class they took, there would likely be disappointment if the ended up with interventions they didn't want.

Secondly, as with any class there is a lot depending on the teacher. I actually talked about the whole "failure" aspect in my classes, that it sucks to get an epidural or cesarean if you didn't want one, but it doesn't mean they failed.

Thirdly, I think Bradley's high natural birth rate is owed in large part to the fact that they are so "hardcore." I imagine BFW would appeal to a less committed audience, and part of the curriculum is compassionate use of epidurals. Bradley doesn't do any of that-it's a natural birth class only. And honestly, to have a natural birth in a hospital these days, you have to be committed. If you're not, it's probably not going to happen (and there's a good chance it's not going to happen anyway when you get right down to it).

:

[balancedmama]

Interesting. I would argue, however, that BFW also attracts familes who are very committed to natural birth. I am not currently mentoring classes, but when I did, I had about a 85-90% natural birth rate. It's not a contest though. I feel that my clients are just as committed to natural birth, but I certainly agree they are different kinds of people. And I personally did a lot of education around natural childbirth in the hospital, and selecting care providers carefully and working with the staff to achieve goals.

[SublimeBirthGirl]

I wasn't trying to make anything into a contest or say one is better than the other. Just explaining the very specific goals of the Bradley Method.

[balancedmama]

Originally Posted by SublimeBirthGirl

I wasn't trying to make anything into a contest or say one is better than the other. Just explaining the very specific goals of the Bradley Method.

No worries! I didn't mean to imply that you were making it into a contest.

[SublimeBirthGirl]

Okay

[amitymama]

Interesting stuff. I hadn't realised that the Bradley method is a bit more 'practical' than BFW. I think I'd be more into Bradley. I'll keep this stored in my memory banks for the next DC!

[dnr3301]

I've taken both, and really liked them both. Bradley seemed very much more information driven, whereas BFW seemed more "inner"ly driven. Bradley was more "here's what they'll offer and the pros and cons" and BFW within was more getting to the nitty-gritty of what you wanted (not just a natural birth, but what does a natural birth mean to you, control? strength? calm?) and getting that, regardless of the circumstances and the environment. I took Bradley with my first, during doula training, and again with my second, and took BFW just a few weeks ago with my pregnant sister. My sister is having a homebirth, and I think all of the information in a Bradley class would have been overwhelming for her, and would have made her more afraid in a hospital transfer situation. She loved the BFW classes. And I'd say that they both attract people committed to natural births.

[zenma]

Originally Posted by SublimeBirthGirl

And honestly, to have a natural birth in a hospital these days, you have to be committed. If you're not, it's probably not going to happen (and there's a good chance it's not going to happen anyway when you get right down to it).

I agree that you have to be committed to have a natural birth in a hospital, but don't agree with the opinion in parentheses. Perhaps in certain hospitals, in certain circumstances it's true that it would be unlikely to avoid interventions, but hospitals do vary and aren't all intervention-happy out of hand.

I've never tried the Bradley method, but found my BFW class to be an excellent resource and preparation for my natural hospital birth. Now I'm re-reading the book to find what I need to prep for my upcoming hospital birth and to keep it a natural one as well.

With my first pregnancy I'd read several books and learned plenty about the practicalities. A class that reviewed all of that stuff again wouldn't have worked for me. BFW does target my need to let go and gives me a lot of ideas about how. Some of it is hokey, but there are so many ideas and concepts to choose from, it's easy to pick and choose. (And the one thing that my BFW teacher taught my class that dp mocks ALL the TIME was actually the thing that really got me through and kept me going.)

[Ixcuina]

Originally Posted by zenma

(And the one thing that my BFW teacher taught my class that dp mocks ALL the TIME was actually the thing that really got me through and kept me going.)

Ok...so you must tell us what that was! Coyote, by any chance